Legislature successful, MTA committee told
By Paul Tash
Montana Tavern Times
“I think it was a very good session for us as a whole.”
That was the assessment of the 2011 legislative session by Ralph Ferraro, chairman of the Montana Tavern Association's Legislative and Gambling Committee, which convened prior to the executive board meeting May 12 in Helena.
Mark Staples, MTA government affairs counsel and lobbyist, agreed. He noted that the successful line-games proposal was a good example of how well the MTA can operate, from start to finish.
“There have been very few issues (before the MTA) that were vetted more within the industry than this one, or the debate as spirited as MTA had on this one,” he told the committee. “The issue was debated for months.”
He said that following all the debate last fall and winter, the MTA voted to support line games, in concert with the Gaming Industry Association and the Montana Machine Coin Operators Association.
“We developed a plan, stuck to it, and we passed it,” Staples said. “That's how MTA and the rest of the industry work. They debate, they decide, and then they do what needs to be done.”
The new law to add video line games to existing video gaming machines becomes effective Jan. 1, 2012, and contains the same betting parameters that exist for poker and keno – maximum payouts will be $800 and maximum bets will be $2.
During testimony throughout the session, tavern and gaming representatives said the bill could help improve an ailing industry hit hard by the economy and statewide smoking ban.
Though costs to upgrade to video line games will vary – depending largely on how current operators have kept their existing machine software, the new law specifically states that line games must be available to every operator.
Staples reminded operators that using the word “slot” or “slot-like” in advertising and marketing efforts is specifically prohibited, and for good reason.
For one, line games aren't slots – they don't exist in free-standing, line-game-only machines, don't have play arms and don't spill out coins. Secondly, the governor, attorney general and legislators would be “seriously disappointed” to see any use of the term slots because they agreed to support line games, not slots, Staples said.
The MTA will work with the industry and the Gambling Control Division to develop the administrative rules in the next few weeks to clarify the details of the new law. Committee members wanted to ensure that the new rules, among other things, maintained the non-exclusivity language and the percent pay-out limits that were highlighted in the legislation.
The committee supported a proposed rule to create a ticket “stale date,” allowing players 48 hours to cash a winning ticket. However, operators would have the discretion to cash tickets after the 48-hour period if they choose. The law currently allows players an infinite amount of time to redeem tickets.
Darrell Keck said the “original intent” of creating a stale date was to fight fraud. Tickets that leave the premises, he said, can be manipulated or duplicated in a variety of ways.
The committee then discussed the debit card “swipe fee” issue. Currently, businesses are charged an average of 44 cents per transaction involving a debit card. The Wall Street Reform Act through the Durbin Amendment, however, proposes to limit that fee to 12 cents per transaction for banks with more than $10 billion in assets.
Sen. Jon Tester, D-Mont., introduced a bill in March to delay implementation of the swipe-fee limit for two years, so its impacts can be studied.
“The politics and complex economics are pretty clear,” Staples told the Legislative and Gambling Committee. “You guys are getting hurt (with the higher fees).
“The question isn't about that. It's about how bad local banks and credit unions will get hurt if they're lowered. It's a pretty classic battle. Should retailers subsidize banks' perks, such as free checking, for other customers?”
Although Sen. Tester believes that most banks in Montana would be exempt from the limit because they aren't large enough, Montana's smaller banks would be affected by the limit because they'd have to lower their swipe fees to compete with the larger banks being forced to lower their swipe fees.
Keck urged the MTA to fight Sen. Tester's effort to stall the limits on debit card swipe fees.
“We have to stand up and say we oppose it.”
Tom Heisler said, “This isn't personal against Sen. Tester, this is against some bad legislators that would hurt our business.”
The committee agreed, voting unanimously to send letters to the entire Montana congressional delegation – Tester, Sen. Max Baucus, and Rep. Denny Rehberg – urging support for limits on debit card transaction fees.
Committee members then turned their attention to the server-training legislation. Staples gave the group a review of the proposal, which would require all sellers and servers of alcohol be trained within 60 days of hire and every three years thereafter.
The proposal (Senate Bill 29) originally accepted all approved training programs, including the Department of Revenue program. However, the House stripped the Revenue program out of the bill, saying the $40,000 proposed cost stated in the fiscal note for the program was too expensive, before passing the amended bill on to Gov. Schweitzer.
Schweitzer then amendatorily vetoed the bill and returned it to the Legislature requesting that the Revenue program be re-inserted. The Senate accepted that amendment, but the House did not.
The legislation then landed back on the governor's desk.
Staples said the governor's office needed to know what the MTA's position was on the matter.
“It all comes back to us,” Staples said.
Staples said that without a statewide program, individual cities will be free to enact their own mandatory server training ordinances, which several already have, that would be much more onerous than the proposed state program.
“The question is simple,” Staples said. “Do you want mandatory server training in the hands of your local city councils?”
The committee resoundingly responded no by voting unanimously to recommend to the board of directors that MTA urge the governor to sign SB29 into law, with or without the involvement of Department of Revenue program, although MTA generally has appreciated the department's inexpensive programs.